Violence Policy Center Releases When Men Murder Women: An Analysis of 1999 Homicide Data

African-American Women Three Times More Likely To Be Murdered Than White Women

WASHINGTON, DC�The Violence Policy Center (VPC) has released When Men Murder Women: An Analysis of 1999 Homicide Data, an annual report detailing female homicides involving one female murder victim and one male offender. The report provides a state-by-state ranking of these female homicide rates and reveals that African American women are murdered at a rate more than three times higher than white women. October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

"African-American women continue to suffer disproportionately from gun violence in America today," states Health Policy Analyst and study author, Karen Brock, MPH. "With ready access to handguns, intimate acquaintances pose a much greater danger to women than the mystery assailant the gun industry frequently uses to sell their deadly products. In fact, 14 times as many black females were murdered by a man they knew rather than by a stranger. All too often, women purchase handguns in a misguided effort to protect themselves. Medical studies and government data consistently show that when a firearm is brought into the home, it is far more likely to result in a homicide, suicide, or unintentional death than to be used to kill in self-defense."

The top 10 states with national ranking including all races and ethnicities: Nevada, Alaska, Louisiana, Arizona, South Carolina, Vermont, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Missouri, and North Carolina.

 

Ranking	State	Number of Homicides	Homicide Rate per 100,000
1	Nevada	30	3.38
2	Alaska	9	3.06
3	Louisiana	57	2.51
4	Arizona	54	2.24
5	South Carolina	42	2.09
6	Vermont	6	1.99
7	Tennessee	55	1.94
8	Oklahoma	33	1.92
9	Missouri	53	1.88
10	North Carolina	74	1.88

 

The Violence Policy Center is a national non-profit educational foundation that conducts research on violence in America and works to develop violence-reduction policies and proposals. The Center examines the role of firearms in America, conducts research on firearms violence, and explores new ways to decrease firearm-related death and injury.